Little House on the Prairie

I read Little House on the Prairie to Maya. We really got into the pioneer days. As part of this exploration we watched the movie, found a great little pioneer dress on Ebay for her Barbie and we built a cool covered wagon with a shoe box, fabric and hot glue.

Mommy really got into this ;)

A Mural

Maya asked if she could draw on her blanket with Sharpies. I said, "Why Not". She created this great mural of an arbor, flowers with roots, the sun and clouds. Pretty darn cool!

Russia

Maya Rae studied Russia.

Vayda and Maya made a cake in the shape of the Russian
flag.



On another day, Maya and Vayda made the word "Russia" out of pretzle dough. Maya really got into the mushing of the dough.

New skills

New Skills!




Maya made her very own skirt in Sept 06. She did all of the cutting, ironing, and sewing herself. I stayed very close by. It was a great accomplishment for a 6 yr old.

Maya Rae loves to cook. Here she is making scrambled eggs for the first time. It didnt take long till she was a pro. Now she can make eggs and toast, tomato soup and of course her main staple, PBJ.

Daddy Time

Daddy Time.....

Jody reads Winnie the Pooh to Maya.

As part of school Jody has been teaching Maya to play the recorder. Jody is blessed with a great
musical talent- though he would never admit its great.

He plays the trombone, piano, recorder, guitar, and though I wont admit it, the accoridan.

Wed night group guitar lessons with dad.

All the kids have an interest in playing the guitar.

New clothes

This is such a nice picture of Vayda and Maya Rae. :)

Vayda and I got creative in early Sept 06.

Vayda wanted new clothes for school. She has a great eye for fun, kind of original clothes. I like that about her. So- we bought a cheap mini skirt. She cut it super short and died it dark blue with Rit dye. I sewed a piece of beautiful batik fabric under the denim. Its awesome. All the kids at school were ravin'.

Then, with the little piece of scrap fabric I made Maya a skirt too.

On this day it was just fluke that they were dressed alike.

Final ranglin of the cow

In October 06 we were getting ready to have the cow leave. I swear he knew it too cause he kept breaking out of his pasture. It was such a pain!

This picture shows him at 600lbs and in

my garden...rrrrrr! He had just finished eating the spinach and walking on the strawberry plants.

I managed to entise him out with a bucket of corn and a dog leash. Ben and I managed to tie him to a tree were he waited out the night. Our butcher, Arlin Bender, was kind to

come out at 6 am to collect the critter.

Elanee at the Sciencenter

This Elanee looking at the bee display

at the Ithaca Sciencenter. I took Elanee,

Vayda and Maya Rae to the Sciencenter

for a day of fun. We followed it up

with a romp at Stewart Park. Good day.

Camping at Day Star Ridge in July 06

This past summer I took the girls and Emma dog to Day Star Ridge in Guilford NY for a camping weekend. This camp site is at the top of a hill and is gorgous. It is Baha'i owned and run. There is a pavillion, out houses, a huge play ground a lovely 9 point star fire pit, cooking facilities and 9 foot paths winding down and around the hill and past beautiful wild flowers and berrie bushes. This gathering was in honor of the Martyrdom of the Bab holy day. We all had a great time! I think I am too old to sleep in a tent on hard ground though. The above picture shows all the children...Elanee, Vayda, Quddus, Vahid, Tusuli, Ruhi & Emma dog, Walayla, John and Maya Rae. Visit Day Star Ridge on the web at http://daystarridge.com/

Unschooling ring

Check out this unschooling ring.

Valentines

This a paper purse I made in the spirit of Valentines Day. Cute.

Good Quote

This quote inspired me to make a plaque to display it. Turned out great I think.

Ayyam-i-Ha Gifts

These are some cool gifts I madefor the kids for Ayyam-i-Ha this year.One for Vayda.

They are those $1.79 wooden letters you can get at Walmart in the craft dept + lots of paper, ink and chochkies ;) This one is for Elanee.

Neat huh? This one is for me :)

This one is for Maya Rae.
This last one is for my brother's son.

Ayyam-i-Ha at our House

We celebrated Ayyam-i-Ha at our house. Every year since I became a Baha'i I have been trying to find a cool way to decorate for this holiday. This year I decided that an Ayyam-i-Ha bush
was just the ticket!

Now let me say- that NO other

Baha'i has a wacky Ayyam-i-Ha bush. This is just a Norton thing- K?

We bought a metal plant holder thingy at Walmart & stuck a green foam block down in it. Vayda cut lilac branches. I stuck the sticks into the foam. Maya & our neighbor Saige covered the foam up with polished stones from Walmart. I cut 9 point starts out of polymer clay and baked them. Vayda and a friend, Nicole, painted the stars funky colors. I strung the stars and Maya decorated the bush.

I love it. Its really cool even without the stars. This is where we placed the kids gifts too. Of course they are wrapped in left over Xmas paper ;) Walmart was plum outa Ayyam-i-Ha paper again this year.

Great project!

Missing an old friend

Today I am missing my old friend, Blake.

Today is Blake's birthday. He was born to his mother Norma on Nov 21, 1971. He was the youngest of 7 in a blended family. Blake Douglas Grant was brought home to Romulus NY and spent his entire childhood living in one of two houses there on Main Street. At one year old his father died in a car accident. The family story goes that Blake was napping in his crib and at the exact moment of his father's death (they learned later) Blake stood up and screamed unconsolably. His father is buried in the Romulus cemetery. Blake brought me to his father's grave several times over the years. He dreamed that he would be buried there by his dad. He was close with several of his half siblings. He looked up to Scott and spoke very highly of him. Two of his sisters, Linda and Charlotte, were close to his heart growing up. His most beloved childhood friend was his pet Doberman pincher.

I met Blake in the 9th grade when our family moved from Waterloo to Romulus. This was 1985. We were more or less acquaintances through the 9th grade. In the 10th grade I had connected with a friend, Heather and we heard rumors of this guy Blake having gone through some tough stuff over the summer. There were kids picking on him and he looked alone and down. We decided to go see him in the library and "be his friends". We did and he was. Seen here...Lauretta, Heather, Blake and I- age 16ish-spent endless hours together over the next three years. Our entire high school experience was wrapped around each other. We nicked named him Butch. We went to dances together, we did sleep overs, we roller skated at the Auburn mall & saw the WWF live. We did countless concerts including Guns N Roses, Aero Smith, Metallica & Queens Ryche to name a few. We did Perkins restaurant at 2 am, Wegman's magazine isle and hollered out the car at the hotties at Hobart. We chased our crushes around.

Following graduation we did more of the same but carried on from the Community College of the Finger Lakes. We skipped many classes and went bowling or hung out by the lake or at the mall . In 1992 Blake was in hall while I gave birth to Elanee. He was there for me for 5 yrs through my first husband woes. Hes the only one to visit me after Vayda was born. He taught me the joys of pepperoni & strawberry milk, cheese in a can & Balies Irish Cream with chocolate milk. He put me though countless Disney Films & quotes from those films, re-enactments of every Queens Ryche and Maria Carey song ever made, and endless performances of new Karate moves. Not to mention relentless tacklings and molestations. But, as we agreed then, "You can't rape the willing".

After I became a Baha'i, divorced my first husband & was marrying my second. I got high and mighty I guess. I decided that I 'didn’t approve' of Blakes life style. I had had enough of his ups and downs (struggles). After he found his partner, Chris, I pushed him away. Five years were lost to this foolishness.

Then out of the blue, on my 31st birthday, the phone rang and it was Blake. I was stunned and thrilled. I was sorry for pushing him away like that and all he said was, "We all have to go through what we have to go through". From there things were back to normal. Heather, Blake and I spent the next two years in a wonderful whirl of friendship. Retta had moved to North Carolina. The two years were spent full of 3 way calls -crazy talks, Blake and I breaking into song from Moulon Rouge- "All you need is love". He called me his Grace (from Will & Grace). Our three families got together for Thanksgiving, Christmas & summer BBQs. We did the Chinese Buffet. I stroked his new fuzzy head.

All of this came to an abrupt stop one morning in January of 2003. That morning I was having computer troubles. Though I knew Blake was a work and I had never done this before, I decided to call him for help. His brother answered his cell phone. The long story short is that strong healthy Blake, for no aparent reason, had died suddenly while getting ready for work.

With his death came the end of an era of cherished friendships. I know Blake has come to visit me since his death. Though its infrequent now, I cherish this and am thankful that I have been open to these experiences. I look forward to reuniting with him.

SO-This is why I am sad today. I am being selfish longing for a good solid squeeze from his strong arms and broad shoulders. I miss my old friend and wish I could just pick up the phone & say, "Happy Birthday, Blake!"

Cool Books & Links

*Cool Books and Links*

We do a ton of reading in this house! This past school year alone Elanee has read 70 fat novels. Thats just her. Jody is an avid reader of history and therapy related topics. Ben reads all kinds of fantacy stuff and Vayda likes young adult books as well as how to's. We read 50 books to Maya Rae between July and August. I read around my interests and entertain myself while I am doing busy hands on work with audio books.

I thought I would start a list of good titles and links of interest.

LINKS

The most Awesome site on the web!- www.prettyinink.biz

Super Cool site. Its like Ebay but its all hand made craft items- www.etsy.com

I like this site for building easy web sites- www.tripod.com

To learn about the Baha'i Faith- www.us.bahai.org

Home schooling- Clothing

Home Schooling- Clothing

Ok- this is gonna start shallow and get deeper....

While we lived Ithaca we were surrounded by home schooling family's. It was easy to pick them out of a crowd because of the way they dressed! Checkers and poka dots, missed matched shoes or rain boots, striped leggings under cheata print skirts ETC!

I just could not understand why on God's green earth their parents let them dress like that. It stumped me for years. It was like a uniform of sorts I thought. It was a way of outwardly rebelling I thought. Regardless, I thought they were NUTS! Even after I started home schooling I tried to ask why oh why this is the case on an email post group but the moderator booted the post saying it was an inflammatory topic. K????

Now- flash forward a year. I get it now and they reason for this post is to inform anyone out there who has had this same question-why home schooled kids are allowed to go out in public dressed in less than socially 'normal', 'regular', 'standard' outfits.

READY for the answer????

Here it is!

IT DOESN'T MATTER- that's why!

What I learned was that not all home schooled kids dress in mixed matched clothing. Some dress just like kids in public school. I figured out the reason for the difference. The kids I have met who attended public school for a few yrs all dressed in socially 'normal', 'regular', 'standard' outfits and the kids who never went to public school dressed much more freely.

What it comes down to is that as parents we learn very quickly that when we send our 5 yr old child to public school their entire socio economic status, parenting influence and family structure will be summed up (by the adults) based on their clothing. AND- they will be tortured or worshiped (by the children) based on their clothing. So- we mothers learn to dress the kids "appropriately".

Now if the same mother never sends their child to public school she will not learn that crappy little lesson. (After all. That's not how it goes in the real world. If YOU wear some odd outfit strangers are not going to tell you look stupid. Neither will aquaitances. Maybe some 'dear' friend- but in general you will be left alone about it.)

So this home schooling mom may allow her child some freedom with clothing. What does it hurt to take your 6 yr old to the library wearing a ballerina costume and cat ears (that's Maya Rae). She's dressed. She's covered. She's happy!

Then I got to thinking....if a child is allowed such creativity and control over their person while they are little- what kind of person does that make? It seems to me that that could turn into self confidence and laid back free thinking.

Hmmmmm. :)

Home schooling- socialization

Home Schooling- socialization

Seeeee- my kids DO see other childen!

This is Elanee, Vayda & Maya Rae out with some family friends (also home schooled) - Quddus, Vahid & Ruhi as well as our neighbors Ravyn and Saige.

Ok- we all hear it. "But- what about socialization!?!" It is the most common first responce to home schooling. Guess what I have learned....its a lie! A myth. Its false. Its totally untrue that home schooled kids are lacking in social contacts. I have to say that home schooled kids are the most lovely SOCIAL kids I have ever met. They know how to relate to adults. They are kind to little kids. They enjoy their peers and dont know how to cruely exclude them. They are just flat out nice! They are the way kids- or people for that matter- are supposed to be and they didnt get that way by being locked away.

Home schooling- My Views.

Home Schooling- My Views

Because you are dying to know, I thought I would give you my 'views' on home schooling in general. I think the biggest downer about home schooling is the all or nothing attitude that is held fast by both home schoolers and public school professionals.

Let me say first off that I know I am generalizing here....

We all know there a million things wrong with America's schools. Its all over the TV as of late. The folks who have chosen public schooling as their profession feel the need to defend their decision. They work to convince parents that regardless of the issues -even dangers- of public schools, we the parents would surely damage our kids. We aren't supposed to know whats right for our kids lunch let alone for their entire education. They want us to believe that 'All schools are good enough for every kid'. I cant blame them. How do you go off to work every day and fight the up hill battle of meeting the needs of 24+ kids with varied learning styles, attention levels, issues etc if you think your cause is not worthy= "right".

Then there are the home schoolers. I have met tons of great, relaxed parents who really do take into account what is both best for and desired by their children. But, I have also met the folks who are so 'home school is the ONLY way' that they box themselves in and sell themselves and their kids short. Right now Dr. Phil is seeking out those folks. Parents who strongly feel home schooling is the only right way. I think as home schooling families we need to first take into account our own strengths and limitations. I know one lady who did great with one, then two and then was ok with the 3rd but by the time the 4th child arrived she was overwhelmed and took it out on the kids. The main problem was that she had been on a soap box about the "only right way" for 10yrs and had so much pride that she could do nothing else. She had painted herself into a corner.

So- I think that options are great! Public schools, charter schools, Waldorfs, Montisouri, Alternative schools and yes- home schools. I think giving the parent the power to trust themselves to parent their children is the best we can do.

My 2 cents ;)

Home schooling- How come?

Home Schooling- How Come?

Home Schooling. Its been a long road getting to this. I can remember way back when I was pregnant for Elanee, I picked up some books on home schooling. I thought at the time it was a great idea. Then life got bonkers. 5 yrs later I was marrying Jody and acquiring 4 step kids. All of his kids were enrolled in public school in Ithaca and doing fine academically but otherwise they were loaded with problems. Their history was...home school. Jody worked full time and his X home schooled all 4 of the kids. Because I don't want to paint an ugly picture of anyone here I will just say that there was a lot of abuse going on. The end. So- at age 26 I took these issues the kids had as proof positive that home schooled kids were whacked and it was a terrible horrible selfish thing to home school your kids. I asked Jody, "What were you thinking!?!?!" Flash back further than all that- when I was a kid my young cousins were being home schooled. My aunt would come to visit and I can now remember some tense conversation around the home schooling. "What about socialization?" my mother would say. I don't remember it all being mean or mad but I got a definite 'bad vibe' message on the topic.

So- how did I end up home schooling my kids after that? Well- When Elanee was 5 I didn't think for one second to not enroll her in public school. It just simply never occurred to me to keep her home. Right from the start she had issues. She was super smart and was reading well above grade level but she just wasn't flowing with the crowd. It never got better. There are a million details that I will spare ya but by the 8th grade I finally said enough is enough and pulled her out. By that point her anxiety was outrageous and her grades were suffering. Her slipping grades were actually the least of her issues. She was being bullied relentlessly as well. She was lying to me and to the teachers. On and on. I had toyed with the idea of pulling her in the 7th grade but didn't have the guts. Besides- this was the one kid I knew I was gonna kill if I had to deal with her all day long.

So- in Oct of Elanee's 8th grade yr (last yr) I prayed and prayed and prayed- I worried and panicked and fretted- and prayed some more. I was sooooooo scared to do more damage. I have made plenty of mistakes with my kids. I was just terrified to take this on. I didn't know what to do! So I prayed one morning in the shower. I ended up just sobbing and begging for an answer. THEN- it was like a smack in the forehead! "Call the Finger Lakes Unschoolers." That was it. Like a stamp on my forehead. The words were there and the fear left and that was that. I went and made the call and I began home schooling a week later. Yup- for real.

The first year was full of adjustments for Elanee and I. First off the public school called and harassed me. That was less than a thrill. We chose an online program http://www.globalstudentnetwork.com/ . It was $600 but it took the burden off of me to figure everything out all at once. Elanee loved it. We have figured out cheaper ways to do it now so we wont be using the program this year.

As for killing Elanee, well the exact opposite happened. I kinda figured her out. Our relationship is 100% better! That's really been the best part of all this. She's a pretty cool kid. She doesn't lie anymore and she is soooooooo much more relaxed, reliable and generally pleasant. She says she'll never go back.

So now I am home schooling Maya Rae too. She 6 and in 1st. I am psyched! She too suffered from a lot of anxiety. To make a long story short she went to school and I received weekly letters from the teacher saying that "Maya Rae is doing great" then one week to the end of school I get a note "Maya Rae is border line passing. She needs summer school." :( WHAT!?! I went in and told the teacher. No thanks. I will teach her at home. Poor kid. Jody was so angry. Says, "I feel like they broke my kid". We sent her to them fine and she came out full of anxiety and clingy and hating reading :( sigh.

At this point I wish I could go back in time and start over. I would have home schooled all of my kids from the start. Reality is that I couldn't have back then but- if I had today's wisdom and yesterdays spunk I would have ;)

What about the other kids? Well- 3 of the kids are grown and out and that leaves Ben who is in 10th. He is my step and I don't feel its my place (or my job to be quiet frank) to educated him. Besides, he's doing just fine where he is. As for Vayda...I wanna! Mainly because I miss her. She is gone so much and I think she Rocks! But- she really really does not want to. She is really into her in school social scene right now. That's ok because she's doing fine and I have my hands very full right now. If she ever came and said she wanted to come home I'd say-ok!